1. 1 In every deliberation, we must consider our impact on the next seven generations. - The Iroqouis Confederacy

2. Only write sentences with yellow words. These are vocabulary words that you need to know. This will save you a LOT of time and effort. If you aren’t sure if you need to write something, ask!

3. Environmental science is the study of the interaction of humans with the natural environment. The environment includes everything around living organisms. Climate Air and water quality Soil and landforms Presence of other living organisms 3

4. Environmental science and the issues that it studies are complex and interdisciplinary. 4 Source: Principles of Environmental Science, Cunningham, 2005.

5. A community decides to use coal for electricity, as it is the cheapest source available. (Economics) The coal must be mined from under the soil. (Geology) The coal must be transported to the population center by road or rail. (Engineering) When it is burned at a power plant, air pollution is released. Some of that pollution is converted to acid in the atmosphere. (Chemistry) This falls as acid rain somewhere downwind. (Meteorology) The acid stresses plants by affecting their nutrient absorption. (Ecology) Laws are passed requiring the plant to install pollution scrubbers. (Politics) 5

6. Resource Depletion A great deal of resources are needed to support the human population (~7 billion). Renewable resources can be replenished within a human lifetime. Timber, water. The supply of nonrenewable resources is replenished extremely slowly, if at all. These can be used up. Coal, oil, minerals. 6

7. 7 Coal is a nonrenewable resource. Over time, it will become more difficult and expensive to extract. This graph represents world coal reserves as of 2008. It is estimated we have about 250 years of the resource remaining at current rates of use.

8. Pollution Pollution is an undesired change in air, water, or soil that affects the health of living things. 8

9. Pollution, whether in air or water, can move and affect ecosystems far away from the source. This map shows the areas with the highest concentrations of air pollution. 9

10. Loss of Biodiversity The number of species on the Earth is unknown, but estimated to be in the tens of millions. Biodiversity is the number of different species present in one specific ecosystem. Extinction, or the complete loss of a species, is a natural event that can be accelerated by human actions. 10

11. There are five known major extinction events in Earth’s history. The most recent major extinction, about 65 million years ago, caused 75% of all species to disappear from the Earth. Believed to have been caused by a meteor impact. 11

12. Environmental ethics is the discipline that studies the moral relationship of human beings to the environment. What is the value of the environment? What moral responsibility do we have in dealing with the major environmental problems that result from our resource consumption? Which needs should be given the highest priority in our decision making? Two main categories of ethics have emerged in human culture in modern history. 12

13. Economics has a huge influence in environmental decision-making. One of the most basic principles of economics is supply and demand. The greater the demand for a limited resource, the higher the price. 13